#NYIAS After the release of a revealing teaser image last week, the unveiling of the Mitsubishi Outlander GT Prototype was hardly a surprise. It looked like an Outlander with an Evo front end and that's exactly what it is. That's not all, though.
There's a new rear fascia, extended side sills and reshaped mirrors. It rides lower on a stiffened suspension and 19-inch O-Z wheels that house Brembo brakes. A mild reworking of the intake and valvetrain adds 10 horsepower for a total of 230 horses. It also gets the same Super All-Wheel Control System (S-AWC) as the Lancer Evolution.
The interior features modest Evo-ish upgrades like aluminum pedals, double-stitched leather trim and a sport steering wheel. There's also a new FUSE media system that integrates Bluetooth with voice activation to control everything from the phone to the navigation system.
Of course, the real question is whether this is a preview of a production model or simply a styling exercise designed to test the waters for a much more aggressive redesign of the next-generation Outlander.
Mitsubishi officials did not make any official announcement, but we were told it's nothing but a thinly veiled production model. So in other words, take off some of the more extreme elements of this concept and you have yourself the next Outlander variant. Not a bad addition in our eyes. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor
Inside Line News: Mitsubishi Outlander GT Prototype
billt9 says:
09:28 AM, 04/ 9/09
the snout is not as scary as I imagined.
roar02ram says:
10:07 AM, 04/ 9/09
That's dumb. Go-fast bits with no go-fast? No thanks & not worth the effort.
GT5000 says:
10:16 AM, 04/ 9/09
Forget, "Outlander GT" this looks just like a Lancer SUV. Even the dash looks like a Lancer.
bankerdanny says:
10:45 AM, 04/ 9/09
Give it the DSG and it would be a viable replacement for my 2007 Forester. All the utility, AWD, and 50 more HP.
orangutan says:
04:30 PM, 04/ 9/09
Did they upgrade the interior materials and finally give it a telescoping steering wheel?